My husband and I will be visiting with 2 mo., 3 yr, and 5 yr in May. We don't have our hearts set on any particular restaurants and are looking forward to not being on a restricting schedule. Is it still important to make reservations ahead of time?”

Hi Charlotte!

If you are not on the dining plan and trying to make the most out of your credits, then I would say--no problem! If you feel that dining reservations would restrict you to the point of not being able to enjoy your vacation, then do what YOU want to do! Just know that 'walk-ins' can be very difficult to come by with parties larger than 2 without a possible wait, OR could be completely unavailable! At the very least I'd sit down and schedule a couple of character experiences for the kids so you're sure to get that done. Just keep in mind that you are sacrificing 'safety' of reservations for the sake of flexibility--which is completely understandable. Also keep in mind that you might not get to eat at certain place because they are booked.

NOW...if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, then by all means, I would book as many dining reservations as possible as you are (in essence) pre-paying for your food, and you'd probably want to get your money's worth.

Meet the Panelist: Amanda, Texas

I am a former Kindergarten teacher turned stay-at-home Mom to my 2 boys and daughter. I've been married to my High School sweetheart since 2000, and we consider ourselves experienced Walt Disney World travelers with little ones.Learn More About Amanda

Didn't find what you were looking for?

To submit your question, please sign in now if you have not already done so.

Ask the Disney Parks Moms Panel

Discover the magic of a Disney Parks family vacation from one of our knowledgeable online Panelists.

This is a question and answer forum to help you plan the best possible Disney vacation. Due to a high volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee that all questions will be answered. Also, please keep the number of questions in each submission to a limit of 3.

When submitting a question, please do not provide us with ideas or suggestions. Your completion of this form constitutes your consent to our free and unrestricted use and disclosure of the information you provide to us.

Write Your Question

256 Characters Remaining

Relevant Tags

Add at least two tags relevant to your question from the choices below.

Thanks for submitting your question!

You'll receive an email if your question is answered.

Due to the high volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee that all the questions will be answered. In the meantime, be sure to use the "Search" feature above or browse the site by destination to see if a similar question and answer have already been posted.